J.C. Armack
J.C. Armack Throughout the missions, Blade is aided via radio link by a computer expert working at HardCorps: JC, a skilled hacker, capable of breaking into even the tightest of networks. In fact, Blade had first found out about JC when investigating a cracker who had broken into the HardCorps system. After tracking down the hacker, Blade, recognizing the perpetrator's talents, decided to make him a job offer at HardCorps instead of arresting him. Thus, JC became one of the HardCorps most valuable assets and the only one able to assist them in hacking-based missions. History Born in Freeport City on the planet TRAPPIST-1e. JC, as he prefers to be called, grew up in trouble of one sort or another. His family came from wealthy stock, so he says, but he always hated the fact that they treated people like servants. He loved the outdoors but loved computers even more and at the age of 8 began to explore the wonderful world that was the NET. His mother and father could see that he had a keen interest in computers and fostered this growing interest. He explored all facets of the NET and soon mastered all that he could learn there. He opened his mind to new possibilities and began to teach himself the intricate background working of the machines. He learned so well that at the age of 10 he hacked into his first super computer and crashed the entire system just to have fun. This little incident lead to a full-scale investigation that landed both JC and his parents in some serious trouble. So much so that JC had to spend six months in a facility for trouble youths. He hated it and vowed never to do it again, but all they while he meant that he would never get caught again. His life took a turn for the worse on his twelfth birthday when his parent’s plane crashed into the ocean on a business trip over seas. They had just passed over some of the more distant islands off the Cape of Winslet and a little north of Crimson Harbor. Their last message was a frantic mayday as their avionics systems seemed to go haywire and a massive energy burst spilt forth over the instruments. No rescue could be attempt and no wreckage was ever recovered due to the storm that was raging over the coastal area at that time. JC was lost. He turned to his best friend, his computer, and lost himself in the intricate working of these perfect machines. No immediate family could be found and the family resources were tied up in the legal quagmire that was slowly choking the city. He found himself in the care of some close friends of the family, Samuel and Clarice Tinsdale. They took JC in and gave him a warm home, plenty of attention, and a little brother to play with. JC slowly emerged from his foggy state and began to rise out of the funk that he had been in. He enjoyed playing with his new brother, Tom. They would run around the park playing secret agent man and evil mastermind. Strangely JC always wanted to be the evil mastermind who thwarted the cool secret agent man. Somehow though JC always seemed to let Tom win in the end, it just seemed like the best ending for them both since he controlled the outcome. JC enjoyed the challenges thrown before him in school and once again began to explore the intricate and exciting world of the NET. This time he learned long and hard how to avoid being tracked, traced, cut off, or stopped. He worked with a few other kids in the school and formed a club named "The Forge of Valhalla". They envisioned themselves as code warriors and worked hard with the tools needed to break into the realm of the gods (or the authorities). They demanded free access to any and all information. They got their wish and it was JC who always led the way on their excursions out into the oceans of information. JC and his group slowly drifted apart after he graduated from high school at the age of 16. He attended the local community college but soon left it behind, realizing that he had learned more than anything they could ever hope to teach him. He always aced his assignments without even studying. He grew very cocky and strutted around like a peacock. He spent a great deal of his time inside of computers and people joked that he must think in binary. He impressed some girls by changing their grades just for kicks and wowed all that watched him work. At 18 he decided that there must be more to this world and ventured out into the big unknown. He traveled around the world learning everything that he could. All programming languages, chip design, encryption coding, ciphers, you name it and he read about it, studied it and absorbed it. He even joined a militia for a short period of time. He trained and learned everything that there was to know about small firearms and had now honed his body into a much more efficient machine. He began to start hacking into the deepest military systems. He learned all about the "Black Ops" going on around the world and then started tapping into foreign systems. He learned many new and exciting things, which he now realized could be sold to the highest bidder. He exploited his talents to their fullest and raked in some serious money. It was as this time that he caught the eye of certain underworld figures and was contracted to procure certain classified information. JC had dealt with all kinds before but knew that this was going to be a bad situation. He agreed to the deal because of the unique challenge and returned to Freeport to begin the job. The Vitello family needed to know when the latest shipments from the Red Syndicate would be arriving, how fortified they would be, and where they would be delivered. JC worked his magic using some of the most sophisticated encryption/decryption modules that he had designed. He justified his actions as it being two rivals destroying each other, but this whole situation still made him sick. He did one other job and then called it quits with these guys, they were pure scum and he wanted nothing to do with them. They did not like that and told him that if he did not help out he would most likely end up with cement sneakers. JC laughed but that did not help. They made other threats that he now knew he could not ignore. This was going to get ugly so he finally agreed but plans were forming inside that brain of his. The new job was hacking into one of the most guarded servers in the sec-forces, HARDCORPS. He knew that there would be no easy way to handle this situation. He needed a close tap to get into this baby. He rented space at a neighboring office building and set up his operation. He began to watch the HC server and soon learned their external protocols. He tapped in and gained access to lower level systems. He poked his virtual eye into their files and learned something new. These people were different. These people were the real thing. Good guys with a purpose worth fighting for. JC felt horrible and refused to let these scumbags get hold of any of this information. JC stalled his current friends and put a new plan in motion. He tapped into many of the rival crime families systems and soaked up all of their current operations and plans. He then fed certain pieces of information back into these systems. He was an anonymous source that helped point the finger of deceit in a multitude of different directions. He heard the grumbling through the grapevine and his "friends" mysterious disappeared. He could finally relax and put his life back on track. He decided to search further into the HC server and ran up against a block wall. A restricted server that he could not get through. He was furious at first then curious at what could be hidden within this system. No system has ever been beyond his grasp. He spent days trying to tap into this system and was almost in when his daily food delivery knocked on the door. He opened the door and was greeted by four heavily armed people who looked very angry with him. He smiled and invited them in for a drink. They did not laugh at all. They took him and his equipment back to HARDCORPS where he was confronted by the head of the company, Colonel John R. Blade. Blade had watched the curious JC for over and hour before finally going into the interrogation room to talk with him. Blade approached this situation with certain reluctance. His investigation could not uncover anything about this little punk and he hated not knowing what was going on. His came in and sat down. Stared right at JC without saying anything. JC stared back and waited. Finally Blade asked why JC had tried to break into that server. JC just smiled and put his feet up on the table, slowly folding his arms back behind his head. Blade waited then floored JC. He said, "Too bad it was a trojan server set up just for the likes of you." JC was stunned. He fell backwards and Blade let out a huge thunderous laugh. JC jumped up and yelled, ‘How could you do that! I should have known! Man, I’m an idiot." Blade let JC stew overnight and then made a unique offer to him. Blade realized that he had found someone with immense talent, but no focus. JC reminded him of himself and how certain people were there in his life to help him take the next step in his formation of the person he was today. Everyone needs a break and it would be better to keep an eye on this cocky S.O.B. rather than let him loose on the public. JC realized that he did not know everything and was humbled by Blade’s little trick. He realized that he still had a few things to learn and he also wanted to refocus his life. JC may have been a little mischievous but he had a good heart and knowledge that could come in handy in this business. Blade watched JC at first but all of his fears were alleviated within a few weeks. JC became a most valuable asset to HARDCORPS. He is now the brains behind the massive computer net that HC controls and maintains through out the city of Freeport. Appearance Glasses, small scar under left ear, star shaped birthmark on right forearm Personality